In a Game of Inches....

You often hear expert players talk about the game winning advantage an otherwise incremental adjustment makes. One more speed to your team, one more slow to your opponent's team. This is obvious but I recently had the opportunity to see a game play out where I can illustrate this in a simple and effective method.

The battle is a Silver III rule set. We have Taking Sides (Neutral Monsters may not be used in battles) and a 13 mana cap on the game. I am competing with Fire Splinter as I am amidst a daily quest and my opponent selects the same (although I can't speak to why they chose it).

As you can see we have each selected the new Living Lava as our respective tanks. This is a Rare Fire Monster from the new Untamed set and even at Level 1 (bcx 1) this is a formidable first position brute. You are going to get 3 melee, 1 speed, 2 shield, and 6 life along with the ability Shield which reduces both melee and ranged attacks ensuring that this bad boy is the can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'. As an aside, and apart from the scope of this post, check out how brutal this bad boy grows to at Level 8 (bcx 115).

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Now it is our second Monster selection wherein the nuance lies. My opponent selected Goblin Fireballer a Common Fire Monster also from the Untamed release that for 2 mana will give you 1 range and 2 life but only 1 speed.

For my part I selected Serpentine Spy, a 3 mana Common Fire Monster from the Untamed release that may only have 1 life but comes out of the box with 2 melee, 3 speed, and Opportunity. It's the speed differential we want to focus on. With my secondary Monster being the first off the blocks, he immediately eliminates the back-row Goblin. This leaves my team with the two on one advantage that you can quickly surmise will result in the win.

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This is a hyper simplified example to showcase what a difference even a speed differential can make to an otherwise even team.

That's all for this post. Experiment with your own teams. Try to make those micro-meta-game adjustments be it speed, or attributes. Let me know what works for you and what doesn't.

Remember to always have fun and Play On!!!!